Electrographic printers that use a rotating magnetic brush to apply a dry, particulate developer to a photoconductor member are known in the art. In such electrographic printers, the rotating magnetic brush includes a rotatable magnetic core surrounded by a rotatable, cylindrical toning shell that is eccentrically mounted with respect to the axis of rotation of the magnetic core. The magnetic brush is mounted adjacent to a developer sump that holds a reservoir of dry, two-component developer including a mixture of ferromagnetic carrier particles and toner particles capable of holding an electrostatic charge. The eccentric mounting of the toning shell defines an area of relatively strong magnetic flux where the shell comes closest to the magnetic core, and an area of relatively weak magnetic flux 180° opposite to the area of strongest magnetic flux where the shell is farthest away from the core. The area of strongest magnetic flux also contains a line of closest approach between the toning shell of the magnetic brush and the photoconductor member. This line of closest approach defines a “nip” between these two components where the particulate toner component of the developer is transferred to the photoconductor member as a result of electrostatic attraction between the toner particles and the electrostatic field from the photoconductor member. The combination of the magnetic brush and the developer sump is referred to as the developer station in this application.
In operation, the photoconductive member is moved past a pre-cleaner and a cleaning station to remove any residual toner that might be on the surface of the member after the previous image transfer. A corona charger then imparts a uniform static charge on to the surface of the member. The photoconductive member is next moved past an image writing station (which may include an LED bar) that writes a latent, electrostatic image on the member by exposing it to a pattern of light. Next, the exposed photoconductor member is moved past the developer station, where the magnetic brush develops the latent electrostatic image on the member by continuously applying a uniform layer of developer at the nip between the toning shell and the photoconductor member. At the nip, toner particles in the developer are transferred to the photoconductor member in a pattern commensurate with the electrostatic image on the member. The developed image on the photoconductor member is then transferred to, for example, an intermediate transfer web for subsequent transfer to a final receiver. The developer that remains on the toning shell downstream of the nip is removed by a skive and deposited back in the developer sump. The used, toner-depleted developer is replenished as needed with additional toner particles in the sump. Replenished developer is continuously applied downstream of the skive far from the toning nip at or near the area of weakest magnetic flux on the toning shell of the magnetic brush, where it is moved back toward the area of strongest magnetic flux and the nip.
In color printing, a series of electrographic printers arranged in tandem are used to create image separations in different primary colors (i.e. cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) which are superimposed over one another to create a final color image. To this end, each printer prints its particular primary color image on an intermediate transfer web which resembles a conveyor belt. The conveyor-belt movement of the intermediate transfer belt is synchronized with the printing by the photoconductor members of the in tandem printers such that the images are superimposed in alignment with one another, creating a final color image.
It is highly desirable for the intermediate transfer web to be horizontally oriented so the height of the resulting color printing assembly is less than a standard room ceiling height. As a consequence, the intermediate transfer web should engage the photoconductor element of each printer at either the 6 o'clock position in a “process-over-image” configuration, or in a 12 o'clock position in an “image-over-process” configuration. As a further consequence, the nip between the toning shell and the photoconductor member should be located at one or the other of the sides of the photoconductor member, preferably near the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position.
It is further desirable to use a photoconductor that is as small in diameter as possible to reduce cost and overall printer size. The pre-clean, clean, charge, expose, develop, and transfer stations must all be positioned adjacent to the photoconductor member. If a small photoconductor member is used, all of these systems must also be as small as possible so as not to interfere with each other or the intermediate transfer web, yet still produce adequate images. Hence there are limitations on, in particular, the height of developer station positioned at the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position relative to the photoconductor member.
It is also desirable to print images as quickly as possible, requiring faster printer speeds. The combination of small size and high process speed is technologically demanding. From a fundamental point of view, large fluxes of charge, light, or particles are needed due to the high rates required for the short time allowed for each process step. This means in general that, as speed is increased and size is decreased, larger concentrations, intensities, and driving forces are used.
Faster printing can be accomplished by increasing the rotational speed of the magnetic brush. However, the inventors have observed that increasing the rotational speed of the magnetic core can produce undesirable effects, such as embedment of toner and heating of carrier particles that ages the developer. Also, increasing the rotational speed of the magnetic core can cause toner particles to fracture and produce small particles, or fines. To fully appreciate the first-mentioned problem, some explanation of the constitution of the toner particles is in order.
A widely practiced method of improving the transfer of the toner particles is by use of so-called surface treatments. Such surface treated toner particles have adhered to their surfaces sub-micron particles, e.g., of silica, alumina, titania, and the like (so-called surface additives or surface additive particles). Surface treated toners generally have weaker adhesion to a smooth surface than untreated toners, and therefore surface treated toners can be electrostatically transferred more efficiently from a photoconductor member to another member. Such surface treated toners also advantageously maintain the same amount of electrostatic attractive force with respect to the photoconductor member despite variations in the ambient humidity.
In particular, the inventors have observed that, when the rotational speed of the rotating magnetic core is increased beyond a certain limit, the carrier particles become excessively heated as a result of hysteresis of the magnetization of the carrier particles caused by the rapidly changing magnetic field of the rotating core. The resulting heat is transferred from the carrier particles to the toner particles, which in turn softens them. The rapidly changing magnetic field of the rotating core also creates excessive mechanical agitation in the toner. The resulting heating, softening, and mechanical impact between the carrier particles and the toner particles causes the sub-micron surface-treatment particles of silica, alumina, titania, and the like to embed into the toner particles, thereby diminishing the ability of the toner particles to hold the static charges necessary for reliable and consistent transfer to the photoconductor member.
It is also desirable to improve the efficiency of the process of skiving the developer that remains on the toning shell downstream of the nip and depositing that developer back in the developer sump. It is also desirable to reduce the expense of the precision required for a straight, thin skive spaced close to the toning shell with a small spacing tolerance and to generally improve the removal of developer from the magnetic brush without interfering with other aspects of the development system.
In addition, a developer station of relatively small size capable of high printing speed in a printer of compact size necessarily has a small, narrow developer sump. For a small sump, a significant fraction of the developer in the sump can be removed from the sump and applied to the toning shell of the magnetic brush. This can result in poor feed of the developer to portions of the toning shell if the volume of developer in the sump is not constant adjacent the toning shell. It is desirable to improve the mixing of developer and the feed of a magnetic developer from the sump to the rotating magnetic brush.